Home Is Where the Heart Is
by customarycreate
Summary: Zephyr Haddock has spent her whole life surrounded by dragons. She knows her parents ran away from Berk when they were young to escape the dragon killers that lived there. Well, now she has a dragon of her own, and she's going back to Berk to change their minds.
1. The Life We Have

**Chapter Summary: Hiccup and Astrid used to live with dragon killers. They don't anymore.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon**

"Long ago, in a land far away, there lived a village called Berk. It's twelve days north of hopeless, and a few degrees south of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery.

Now this village had a problem. They were constantly raided by dragons. And so, to protect their village, the Vikings grew up learning how to kill these dragons, and soon their whole culture was dedicated to this cruel practice.

Children from a young age were taught to fear and hate the beasts, as they were called, and when the grew older they were taught the most efficient ways of killing them. It became a sport and a competition. The person who did the best in Dragon Training had the honour of killing one of the most ferocious dragons, the Monstrous Nightmare.

Now, there was a boy among this village, who was the smallest of them all. He was weak, and scared, but wanted to prove that he could kill dragons just as easily as the others could.

One day, during a raid, the boy took one of his many dragon killing inventions up to a mountain and took down the most mysterious dragon known to Vikings; the Night Fury.

The next day he went and searched for the dragon, and found it tied up in ropes. The boy realised he now had his chance, he could kill this Night Fury and prove to the village once and for all that he was just as good a Viking as any of them.

However, just as he was about to stab a knife right into the dragons heart, he looked into it's eyes and saw… he saw himself in the dragon. Scared, alone. And so, he took his knife and cut the ropes open instead, setting the dragons free.

A few days later he went back into the forest to look for the dragon and found it stuck in a cove. You see, when he had shot the dragon down, it had lost half of it's tailfin, and so couldn't fly. The boy, overcome with guilt, decided to build the dragon a tailfin so it could fly again.

The tailfin worked, but it could only work with the boy's help. And so, the boy and the dragon learned to fly as one, and slowly became the best of friends.

One day, a young girl from the village followed the boy to where the dragon was kept hidden. Terrified, she turned to tell the village of the boy's deceit, but he took her for a flight and changed her mind. She too now saw dragons as beautiful creatures, and not mindless beasts.

The two of them, unable to live in a world where dragons were hated and killed, flew away from the island. They ran away so that they could live peacefully with their dragons. And to this day, they remained with them."

The little girl and boy in front of Hiccup looked at him with fascination. "Wow, Dad! That's such a great story!" The boy, a couple years younger than the girl, exclaimed. "That's the story of you and Toothless isn't it? Wow." Toothless crooned in response, sitting right by the bed the two children sat on.

"Are there really places like Berk that exist?" The girl questioned, curiosity and fear in her eyes. "That kill dragons?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yes, darling, there are. Your mother and I ran away from Berk so we could live with Toothless and Stormfly, and later so that we could keep you two safe." He poked their stomachs, which caused them to giggle. "But, don't worry Zephyr. You are perfectly safe here. Your mother and I won't let anything happen to you, and neither will Toothless or Stormfly." The blue dragon grumbled quietly, nuzzling Zephyr.

"Thanks, Dad." She said, yawning.

The older man chuckled. "I think it's time for you two to get some sleep." He took his son, Nuffink, in his arms and carried him to the other side of the room where his own bed was. Once he was sure the two were settled in bed, he blew the candle on the table out, and exited the room, the two dragons following him out.

Zephyr sat up straight in bed just as her father had left the room. "Hey, Nuffie?"

"Yes?" He answered.

"One day," she said with a smug smile on her face. "I'm going to go to Berk and change their minds about dragons!"

Nuffink scrunched up his nose. "No way, you're not cool enough for that.

"Kids! Go to sleep!"

The fell back onto their beds without another word.

Astrid and Hiccup, when they discovered they were going to have a baby, quickly decided that it was time for them to stop travelling the world, and to find a permanent home where the baby would be safe. They found an island to themselves and built a home.

It was small and humble. Two bedrooms and a large room with a kitchen and table. It was all they really needed to live comfortably.

The couple sat now at their table, talking out of earshot of their children, their dragons wrestling playfully outside the house.

"Hiccup, do you think it was a good idea to tell them that story?" Astrid questioned, taking her husbands hands into her own.

He sighed, breaking free of his wife's grip to run his hand through his hair. "I know we have to keep them safe Astrid, but I think they should know that there are people out there who don't think the same as we do."

He stood up and walked over to the door of their house, looking out to the sea below. Astrid followed. "I'm just worried Hiccup. We left to forget about Berk and dragon killing. I don't want my children to feel that pain. To know that there are people out there who take joy in killing dragons."

"Sometimes I wish…" Hiccup started, looking out into the night sky. "Sometimes I wonder, you know, what might have happened had we never left. Do you think I could've changed their minds?" He turned to Astrid, regret in his eyes.

Astrid hummed. "I think that there's no use in wondering the if's or maybe's of what we've done. We have a good life Hiccup." She gestured around the house. "We have two wonderful children and two wonderful dragons. What more could we want?"

Hiccup nodded.

...

Miles away on the island of Berk, Stoick the Vast, chief of the tribe, sat at his table with his head in his hands. "Oh Hiccup," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

**Hiccup and Astrid left when they were 15.**  
**Married at 17.**  
**Had Zephyr at 18.**  
**Had Nuffink at 20.**

**I like to keep the ages of the characters in my head at all times, and what age they were when they did certain things. I find it helpful in understanding the timeline. I thought I might give these ages to you so you can also understand what's happened before the story began.**  
**Hope you enjoy this story, it's something that's been in my head for a really long time now. I decided to use the names of Hiccup and Astrid's actual children from "How to Train Your Dragon: Hidden World".**  
**If you have any constructive criticism, please leave a comment. No hate though, thank you.**


	2. Eighteen Years Later

**Chapter Summary: Astrid struggles to train her daughter. Stoick struggles with on-going dragon raids, as well as grief.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own How to Train Your Dragon**

Zephyr crouched low, making good use of the long grass to keep herself hidden. She kept a close eye on the figure in front of her and strengthened her grip on the sword in her hand. Her breathing slowed as she crept forward, ready to pounce.

Once her victim turned their back to her, she attacked. Coming out of her stance with a battle cry, she swung her sword, headed straight for the person's neck.

However, quicker than she could even react, the sword flew out of her hand from the force of the axe bearing down on it. Zephyr was pushed onto her back, the axe now positioned over her throat.

"That was better, you at least hid from me long enough to actually strike." Her mother offered Zephyr a hand up, which the young girl took without question. "But what was that battle cry? It gave you away."

Zephyr went over to grab her sword. "I don't know, it felt appropriate," She shrugged, attaching the sword to her belt.

Astrid raised her eyebrow. "Well, that dramatic flair would have cost you your life. Zephyr, we haven't even gotten to proper techniques yet."

Her daughter looked down, unwilling to meet her mother's eye. Astrid sighed and took a look at the sky, where the sun had started to set over the ocean. "I think we can finish for the day."

"Thank the gods!" Zephyr exclaimed, running back to the home. Astrid looked on in amusement, following her daughter at a slower pace.

Astrid entered the forge, where her husband was busy with a new invention. "What are you up to now?" She smirked as looked up, startled, and dropped the metal pole that he had been hammering away at.

"M'lady, fancy seeing you here," He answered, putting away his gloves. "How was training with Zephyr?"

She sighed. "Hard. She's not really picking up fighting very well. Not like Nuffink is." She looked out the window of the forge where their youngest child was training with an axe. "I don't know how to help her. She just doesn't have the same enthusiasm."

Hiccup thought for a second, putting away the tools that he had scattered around the forge. "She could just take after me, I was never really one for fighting." He turned back to Astrid, frowning. "You know, maybe it's time we get her a dragon."

"Really?" Astrid looked back out the window where she saw Zephyr and Nuffink engaged in a mock wrestling match. "I mean, I guess she is the age we were when we got Toothless and Stormfly." She walked backwards so that Hiccup could pull her closer to his chest.

"And she is more used to dragons then we were. I mean, I was terrified the first time I saw Toothless," He said, wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

Astrid hummed. "Yeah. At least on dragon-back she'll have a way of defending herself."

"What are you thinking for her?" Hiccup asked. "A Nadder, a Gronkle?"

"I think she'd suit a Nadder."

Hiccup laughed. "Well, she'll take after you in some regard at least."

"Ha-ha, very funny dragon-boy."

The couple watched as their children continued to play outside as the sun was setting.

...

Stoick growled as a Gronkle charged into the house, spewing lava over the wood and causing it to burn.

_I'm getting too old for this._

"Come here, you devil!" He raced forward and grabbed the dragon's snout, clamping it shut with his own hands. Without wasting another second, he pulled out his axe and chopped it's head off.

The raids, somehow, had gotten worse the past few years. The dragons seemed to come out of no-where and weren't stopping anytime soon. Racing out of the house, he shouted orders to the men who came out beside him.

"Sound the alarm and have someone stationed on the tower. We need to kill these beasts before they can even make it onto our shores."

"Yes, chief." A man ran off, presumably to do exactly what Stoick had asked.

The chief turned to the warrior beside. "What've we got?"

The man cleared his throat. "Nadders, Gronkles, Zipplebacks. A few Monstrous Nightmares, and I could've sworn I saw a Thunderdrum but they're not usually part of the raids."

"Any Night Furies?" He asked, even though he really didn't have to.

The man shook his head. "Not for the last eighteen years, Stoick."

Stoick nodded, before running up to Nadder with the men behind him, securing it into a net. "Make sure the sheep are hidden well, we don't want them found again."

"Yes, chief!"

Stoick sighed as he went to join the battle.

Ruling over a village was hard enough, but add dragons into the mix, it was near impossible most days. It also didn't help who his heir was.

Snotlout had grown out of his teenager immature nature. He showed more respect, and listened to other more, and didn't boast about himself too much. But Snotlout just didn't have what it took to become a chief. Even with eighteen years of training, Stoick still didn't want to pass the leadership down to him. People didn't listen to him, as his method of giving orders and instructions was yelling more often than not, and his ideas and plans usually never worked out.

It didn't help that his brother, Spitelout, continued to push for Stoick to finally resign and give the leadership to Snotlout. Every meeting with the man turned into a shouting match about how Stoick was getting far too old to lead, and that he should be handing over to Snotlout sooner rather than later.

As Stoick took down another dragon, he thought about his true heir; Hiccup. The boy had only been fifteen when he went missing, and so he had no idea if Hiccup would've been a good chief or not. But from the scared, weak and nervous person he had been as a kid, Stoick really doubted it.

The raid finally ended as the rest of the dragons flew off, taking with them about a week's worth of food for the village.

"Alright men," Stoick addressed the crowd. "Time to get started on rebuilding. Hoark, give me a number on the house."

"At least two houses are damaged beyond repair, and another five or so with minor repairs needed."

The chief hummed. "That's better than last time at least." He turned to the man. "I'm leaving you in charge of the rebuilding."

Later in the night, Stoick stumbled up the stairs of the Great Hall, in desperate need of some food and a strong drink.

Gobber greeted him there, already downing a mug of mead. "We'll get them one day." He said, before taking another gulp of the drink. "They can't go on forever."

"Gobber," Stoick started. "They've been going on for 300 years.

"But you know what? So, have we!"

Stoick sighed, grabbing a mug of mead for himself. Looking around to make sure no one could hear, he sat down opposite his friend. "Gobber, what do I do? I can't be chief forever, but it's clear the Jorgenson boy isn't really up to the task."

"Well, keep training him! No chief is great on their own, they need proper guidance." His friend answered, taking another mug.

Groaning, Stoick continued, "Gobber, I've been training him for eighteen years. Surely by now he should be able to, I don't know, lead properly?"

Gobber looked down into his drink, frowning in thought. "You know, I reckon Hiccup could've been a good chief."

The mood, already stale from the raid and the conversation, took a turn for the worst. Stoick growled and downed his whole mug, slamming it back onto the table. "You know how I feel about that topic."

"Stoick, it's been almost two decades. You gotta acknowledge it at some point." Gobber deepened his frown. "Listen, I can't even begin to understand what's going on in that head of yours, but I know what you're doing ain't healthy."

"So, what if Hiccup would've made a good chief?" Stoick grumbled. "He's gone now. We'll never know."

The blacksmith grinned. "I knew. You didn't see him when he was in the forge. His determination and will, the way he never backed down from a project no matter how big. Those were the signs of a great chief."

Stoick dropped him head down into his hands. "Oh Gobber, what did I do wrong? To have the gods take away not only my wife but also my son?"

Gobber shook his head. "None of this is your fault Stoick, there's nothing you could have done."

"I was a horrible father, Gobber," Stoick grumbled. "I couldn't even give him the time of day. Our relationship, I don't what happened, it just seemed so fragile and weird all the time. I should've made more of an effort with him."

"Stoick, don't get caught up in the what if's. What has been done, has been done."

"I just miss them so much." And with that, Stoick stood up to walk home, to an empty house.

**Hi again.**  
**I can't promise I will be updating this quickly. I go back to school in a few weeks and then I will probably be swamped with work.**  
**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am still establishing the plot but there should be some action soon.**  
**Once again, constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.**  
**Thank you.**


	3. Everything is About to Change

**Chapter Summary: ****Zephyr finally get's her wish; a dragon of her own. ****In Berk, Stoick proposes for another hunt for the nest. ****Bonus: Tiny Zephyr trying to train a Gronkle.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD. **

"Dad, you should've seen me! I threw a left punch and then a right punch and then a kick…"

Hiccup laughed, "Nuffink, Nuff, settle down, settle down." His, rather excitable, son bounced up and down on his chair, barely getting food in his mouth before continuing his story.

"And then I grabbed out my axe—"

"And I blocked it, remember?" Zephyr interrupted, a smug smile on her face. "And then I disarmed you!"

Nuffink scowled. "That's just because you cheated! You can't use your weirdo inventions in a fight!"

Zephyr did not take kindly to her inventions being called 'weird'. She lunged over the table with a fork in her hand, ready to strike him across the head…

"Woah, woah!" Hiccup grabbed his children, one kid in each hand, and pushed them back down into their seats. "There is no fighting at the dinner table!"

From within the kitchen, Astrid shouted, "Did I hear fighting?"

The two kids obediently sat back down in their chairs as their mother came into view. She frowned at them, before walking over and punching Hiccup in the arm. "That's for letting the fight get that far." He rolled his eyes at her before smirking. She smirked back, reaching down to give him a peck on the cheek.

"EWWW!" The kids covered their eyes with their hands, exclaiming their disgust at their parents' obvious display of affection. "Mum, Dad, that's so gross!" Nuffink added, fake vomiting into his hand.

Astrid and Hiccup rolled their eyes, before kissing full on the lips to their children's disgust and embarrassment. Deeming their punishment paid, Astrid walked around the table to sit opposite of Hiccup at her place at the table. The dinner continued in silence until Hiccup cleared his throat.

"Zephyr, you know, I was fifteen when I first met Toothless."

The young girl nodded, "Yeah Dad, I remember, you tell us all the time how you first met and befriended him."

Astrid smiled at her daughter, continuing Hiccup's thought. "Yes, Zephyr, and I was also fifteen when I first met Stormfly." Zephyr looked at her expectantly, raising an eyebrow. "And, well… we thought since you are now fifteen, that it'd be a good idea for you to get a dragon of your own."

"Really?" Zephyr exclaimed, jumping out of her seat and looking at both her parents in astonishment. "Are you serious?"

For Zephyr, getting her own dragon had been a dream she'd had since she first could think about dreams. Watching her mother and father fly away on dragons had fascinated her mind for the longest time, and then when she got to ride with them! It even got to the point where once, at age eight, she had tried to train a dragon by herself.

_Zephyr stared at her dad in wonder. "So, that's how you trained Toothless?"_

_Hiccup nodded, a smile clear on his face as he reached his hand over to rub Toothless' scales. "Yes, Zephyr. Training and befriending dragons is all about trust." Toothless rolled over onto his stomach as Hiccup continued to scratch. "I trusted Toothless that he wouldn't eat me, and he trusted me to not kill him."_

"_Wow." She exclaimed, joining her dad to give Toothless a hug. The dragon cooed at her, before swiping his tongue clean across her face. "Ew, Toothless," She grumbled, pushing away his head as he warbled out a laugh. Hiccup eyes grew soft at the interaction. _

_Zephyr, meanwhile, continued to think about how her father had trained Toothless. _

_At daybreak, Zephyr snuck out of her house and into the woods that surrounded it. The young girl wrapped her arms around herself as the trees whistled and screeched in the wind. "Lose all your weapons," she mumbled to herself, looking around the forest in fear. "Show you mean no harm." A branch snapped to her left, causing her to jump. She trembled harder. "Let them come to you."_

_The forest was far from silent; Zephyr, if she listened closely, could hear every single sound of every creature, echoing through the endless rows of trees. Dragons roamed these woods. Her parents warned them to never step foot in the forest without supervision, dragons are beautiful but also dangerous. _

"_Respect the dragons," she echoed her father's words. "Respect them and they'll respect you." _

_Suddenly, a flash of red caught her eye. The girl stumbled back before straightening her shoulders and striding forward, trying to ignore the shaking in her hands. "I'm not going to hurt you!" She called out, spotting the red tail of a Gronkle poking out from behind a rock. "If I respect you and you respect me then we can be friends!" The Gronkle turned around, catching sight of the girl. "That's right. We can be friends."_

_The Gronkle was beautiful. Rich, red scales adorned the dragon's skin, and its eyes were a fantastic yellow colour that seemed to look directly into her soul. She took another step forward._

_It seemed the Gronkle didn't quite have the same intentions as Zephyr did. It crouched low and growled. "No, I'm not gonna h-hurt you." Zephyr backed up as the dragon started to prowl towards her. "I-it's okay. We're friends –"_

_Her words were cut off by a gasp. The dragon bounded towards her, snarling and growling. "No! No!" The girl braced her hands above her head, another terrified wail leaving her lips. _

"_ZEPHYR!" Hands grabbed her away from the dragon's sight, pulling her behind a tree. "It's okay, shh, you're safe." Her mother's soft hands ran their way through her thick hair, calming her from her terror. "It's okay." _

_Zephyr peered over her mother's shoulders to see Hiccup calming the Gronkle, placing a hand on its snout. Looking down into her lap, Zephyr knew she was going to be in a lot of trouble. _

"_Sweetheart," her dad raced over, kneeling beside Astrid to check Zephyr for injuries. "Are you alright?" The girl nodded, tears welling in her eyes. "Okay, okay." He breathed out a sigh of relief and took her into his arms. "We're going to have a big talk when we get home, okay? And I promise, when you're old enough, I'll teach you how to train dragons properly."_

"Hey! How come Zeph gets a dragon and I don't?" Nuffink exclaimed, crossing his arms and pouting.

Hiccup chuckled, before roughing his hands through his son's hair. "Don't worry Nuff, when you turn fifteen you can get your own dragon as well, deal?" Nuffink grumbled and continued to pick at the fish on his plate.

"So," Zephyr started, bouncing around in her seat. "So, when can I start? I mean the first job would for us to even find a dragon in the first place, or maybe, am I allowed to choose what type of dragon it is?" Astrid went to answer her, but Zephyr kept talking, almost tripping over her words as they tumbled out. "Because if I can I definitely want it to be a Nadder. No offense to any other dragons, obviously, but I just think Nadders are great, like Stormfly!"

Hiccup laughed, "I'm glad to see you're enthusiastic about this."

"Of course, I am! Dragons have basically been my life!"

"In the morning," Astrid replied to her daughter's previous question. "We'll start in the morning. I'm sure we can find a Nadder in the woods out the back."

Zephyr smiled, a huge grin that brightened her face. "I can't wait to start!"

...

"We can't wait any longer!" Stoick bellowed across the hall. "We need to try again. They can't hide from us forever!" The men and women of Berk sat around the table, staring at their chief. They looked to each other, frowns and worried glances on their faces.

"Stoick, we tried all those years ago, what makes you think it's gonna be any different this time?" A brave Viking called out, many around her nodding their heads.

From across the table, another Viking agreed. "And even before that, our ancestors have been trying for four hundred years now." *

"We have to keep trying," Stoick pushed. He knew the importance of gaining the trust of his village, that trust could not afford to waiver now. "These raids have only gotten worse! We've lost more food this season than in any other year. And it's almost as if the demons are raiding us every night!"

Gobber turned to him, scratching at his head. "Stoick, it's a suicide mission. Most of those boats don't come back, we were lucky that one time!"

Stoick stared into the eyes of his warriors. "We have all lost someone to the beasts. Siblings, children, parents…" He paused. "Wives."

The crowd looked down, whispering the names of their loved ones who had been lost in the fight.

He sighed, composing himself. "I'll be going to the nest, whether or not I have support. I owe that to this village. I owe that to those we've lost. We have to stop being on the defensive and move to attack. Because, if we don't –" He looked around sadly. "There might not be a Berk anymore."

The warriors looked down again. It was true, in the past few years the raids had progressively gotten worse. And they had all been affected in some way, especially as the village had lost around a third of the population in the last twenty years alone.

Gobber looked around at the room, sighing. "I'll go."

The Vikings whispered among themselves, and then became silent when a woman stood with Gobber and Stoick. "I'll go."

"I'm with ya Stoick!"

"I'm with the Chief."

"I'm with the Chief!"

Stoick's face remained expressionless as the warriors stood to their feet, but he nodded his head in thanks. "Very well, we sail first thing tomorrow."

...

Astrid threw the leftover fish to Stormfly, where Toothless then went to steal out of her mouth. As the dragons fought over the piece of meat, she strode over to where Hiccup had perched himself on the rock that jutted out of the ground, just where the water met the shore. "What's wrong?" She asked, leaning against the rock to play with his hair.

He continued to look out over the water, into the full moon ahead. "Astrid, I have a…" he paused for a moment, reaching for her hand. "I have a bad feeling."

"A bad feeling about what?" She pressed, searching for the answers in his eyes.

"A bad feeling that…" he turned fully to look into her eyes. "Everything is about to change."

*** I can't remember what episode but during Race to the Edge Berk celebrated four hundred years of living there. So therefore, it has now been four hundred years since the Vikings first sailed to Berk and had problems with dragons.**

**I know some people may be impatient for the meeting between Zephyr and Berk; don't worry, it's coming. One of my problems with these types of stories is that they never allow for us to explore what life was like for Hiccup and Astrid before they came back to Berk. And in this story, they don't ever want to go back to Berk. So, obviously they won't be returning in the first, second or even third chapter. **

**I like to think, because Zephyr has spent her life around dragons, that she has a sort of naivety about her in regards to them. And I also like to think she takes after her father a lot, and she also trusts him wholeheartedly. If he tells her the secret to training dragons, she will believe him and go try it herself. **

**Thanks for reading, I really hope you're enjoying this as much as I am. Constructive criticism as always, thank you.**


	4. Catalyst

**Chapter Summary: Zephyr finally trains and befriends her dragon, Jewel. Weeks later, Snotlout contemplates on life as the heir as the hunt for the dragon's nest comes back unsuccessful. That same night, Zephyr argues with her father about Berk.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD**

"It's okay, Zephyr. I'm going to be right behind you the whole time." Hiccup laid his hands on his daughter's shoulders, smiling. "I won't let anything happen."

Zephyr took a deep breath in and out. "Okay, okay. I'm ready."

Hiccup nodded. "Good, do you remember what I taught you?"

"Yes, Dad."

Hiccup and Zephyr stood in front of the forest, watching for any movement. Astrid and Nuffink stood behind them, they would not be following their family into the woods.

"Okay, let's go in," Hiccup said, guiding Zephyr past the first row of trees.

Astrid bit her lip and pulled Nuffink closer to her. "Be careful!" The father and daughter turned around for a quick second, nodding their heads before venturing deeper into the forest. "Your father knows what he's doing." She reassured her son, as she felt him shaking. "And Zephyr is smart. There's nothing to be worried about." Even though her words were true, it didn't stop Astrid nervousness pooling in her stomach.

Zephyr walked ahead of her father, stepping cautiously around the bush on the floor of the forest. Just like that day she entered the woods at eight years old, the creatures hummed and chattered all around her. But, unlike that day, she wasn't afraid. She knew exactly what she had to do.

She continued into the forest until she reached a creek. It flowed from down the mountain, the ice melting as it reached the lower temperature of the forest floor. Across the river stood a proud and serene Deadly Nadder.

"It's beautiful." Zephyr whispered.

The Nadder's scales were a vibrant type of green, one she could almost describe as emerald in colour. Under the sun's rays they glowed and reflected the light. The accent colour seen on the dragon's horns and around the tail were orange, and the two colours complemented each other beautifully. The Nadder shook her head and chirped, peering across the creek at Zephyr curiously. Zephyr smiled at her and waved. The creature tilted her head, spread her wings and flew over the creek to land directly across from the girl.

Hiccup placed a reassuring hand on Zephyr's shoulder. "Okay, you know what to do." Zephyr nodded in agreement. "I'll be right behind if anything goes wrong, but this is all on you." With a last smile, Hiccup retreated behind his daughter, allowing the dragon and the girl some privacy.

Zephyr smiled at the dragon, reaching out a slightly shaky hand. "Hey, girl!" The Nadder retreated back, staring at the hand with worry. "I won't hurt you. I promise." Zephyr spoke in soft tones, keeping a smile on her face no matter how hard her heartbeat pounded in her chest. She strode forward carefully, making sure to keep eye-contact with the dragon at all times. The dragon strutted closer as well. Zephyr knew she wasn't afraid of humans, she had most likely encountered her parents many times when they flew through the forest. But whether or not the dragon trusted her was a different story.

Once Zephyr was close enough to almost touch the Nadder's nose, she stopped and turned her head away. She waited a breath, and then two. For a moment, she thought she had failed, that the dragon had walked off and left her standing in the middle of the forest like an idiot. "Please," Zephyr whispered, her eyes closed.

After what felt like an eternity, smooth, soft scales bumped against the palm of Zephyr's hand. She breathed out a laugh before turning to the dragon, rubbing her hands around her nose and mouth. "Hi!" She laughed, and her dragon - her dragon! - responded with a chirp. "Wow."

"What are you gonna name her?" Hiccup asked, smiling as he joined Zephyr in running his fingers along the dragon's scaled.

"A name?" Zephyr frowned. "I never even thought of a name." The girl looked back up at the dragon, staring into the yellow irises. She looked along the dragon's body where the green and orange scales shined. She looked like a… "Jewel." Zephyr determined, nodding her head. "Her name is Jewel." The newly named Jewel roared to the sky in acceptance of her name. Zephyr smiled and turned to her dad. "Can I go riding now?"

...

Snotlout Jorgenson was the heir to the throne of Berk. If you had asked him when he was fifteen what he thought about this, he would have answered something like, "Yeah, well, I was always better than that little runt Hiccup anyway. It only makes sense that the strongest of us would be chief one day." Ask him now, however, he would have a very different response.

While still arrogant and prideful, Snotlout had grown up. Now, at 33 years old, he had given up his teenage immaturity. After all, the one thing his uncle and dad drilled into him every time a chief lesson came along, was that respect and wisdom were the best weapons a chief could possess.

As ecstatic and smug his response had been to becoming heir, now all it reminded him of was that sooner rather than later, he would be responsible for an entire village, and one mistake could be disastrous.

Of course, in public he had to maintain his reputation. No one could know he had second doubts about his status.

Another thing about chiefdom that he did not look forward to was the hunt for the dragons' nest.

He had never gone on one before, no, he had stayed on Berk while his father and the rest of Berk's warriors rode off the horizon. He had been fifteen at the time of the last hunt, and he remembered seeing only one boat come back, burn marks and holes almost sinking it into the sea. There was a reason the dragon hunts were far and few between.

And now, he stood on the dock once again, seeing only one boat come back.

His father was not one of those who came back.

Stoick came up to him and patted his shoulder, grimacing slightly before turning away. Snotlout held in the tears; he was a Viking and weakness was not an option.

Everyone knew sailing off to Helheim's Gate was a suicide mission, Snotlout never held any hope that his father would come back, it never did any good to hope. And so, the funerals were held and not a word spoken afterwards.

At night, perhaps, Snotlout might cry into his wife's arms, out of earshot of his children, and wish for a chance for the gods to change his fate.

But nothing ever changed.

...

"Dad," Zephyr started, a curious look to her eyes. "Why don't we ever visit Berk?"

Her father tensed, stopping the hammer mid strike before it pounded the metal on the bench. He turned to where she sat at her own bench in the forge, purposefully not meeting his eyes. "You know why, Zephyr." His voice sounded strained, warning her to not continue the topic.

But Zephyr never really paid attention to his warnings.

She continued, "I know but, if you changed your mind about dragons, and mum changed her mind about dragons, surely Berk could –"

"No, we've spoken about this," he cut her off, causing her to fully turn towards him. "Before we even get the chance to land they'll shoot our dragons out of the sky."

"But what about after that? Surely we could get through to them somehow!"

"Enough, Zephyr." He warned again.

She didn't stop. "If only we could show them how great dragons are –"

"I said enough!" Hiccup shouted, shocking his daughter into silence. Her father rarely raised his voice, to either her or Nuffink. She had really gone too far this time.

He saw her crestfallen face and huffed, ashamed and angry at himself for loosing control. "Listen, I'm sorry." She looked back up at him, tears in her eyes but refusing to fall. He sighed. "You have no idea how much your mother and I want to go back Zephyr. We want to so badly show you to our parents and to the rest of the village. We want to change their minds. But it's just…" He paused, biting his lip and turning away. "It's too dangerous. I'm sorry." Hiccup looked up to the moon. "It's time you go back to the house."

Zephyr's quick footsteps faded into the distance as she made her way back into their home. Hiccup continued to work on the sword, every pound of the hammer pounding against his brain as he thought of what might've happened if he had stayed on Berk all those years ago.

When he himself left the forge for sleep, he failed to notice a dragon sneak off around the back of the house, before beating her wings and taking off to the skies.

"Come on, Jewel." Zephyr whispered in her dragon's ear. "Let's show them how wrong they are."

And into the night sky, both rider and dragon went.

**Woohoo, it's finally getting interesting!  
**

**I was super impatient for this part of the story and I'm so glad we're finally getting into the action.  
**

**To be clear, Zephyr and Jewel have been together for a few weeks now after their initial meeting. I was wondering about how to incorporate this into the story but I just couldn't so I figured I'd tell you now.  
**  
**Also, Snotlout is one of my favourite characters (shocker, right?). I believe that at 33 years old he would not be as stupid or arrogant as he was as a teenager. I also think he might buckle a little under the weight of chiefdom. **  
**Thanks again for reading this far. Here's 20 points!  
**  
**Please leave a comment and don't be afraid to leave constructive criticism!**


	5. Realisations

**Chapter Summary: Zephyr starts on her journey to Berk. ****Back home, Astrid, Hiccup and Nuffink realise she's gone.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD.**

The wind, harsh and unforgiving, whipped her hair around her face. She rubbed at her nose, already red and sore from the cold. Holding in a yawn, she decided to check her progress.

Zephyr looked down at the map, recognising the island she just flew across. "Okay, Jewel," she patted the dragon on her head. "We're half-way there."

It had been late when she left home, most-likely just before midnight. Now, the sun's rays peaked over the horizon, casting a pink glow over the water, but the atmosphere still clung onto the dark and cold night. High up in the clouds, Zephyr pulled her cloak tighter around herself, burying her hands within the furs.

"I should've brought some extra coats." She whispered, rubbing her arms gently. Jewel reached out with a wing to slap the girl on the head. "Yeah, yeah. I know."

The decision to go to Berk wasn't spontaneous. It had always been in the back of her mind, whether she was dreaming at night about meeting the people of Berk or planning the best way to introduce herself to the villagers. She had even stolen the map to Berk from her father's desk many years ago and, when she knew no one would see, mapped out her journey across the vast ocean.

She had hoped at least that her parents might have joined her. Surely they wanted to go back to Berk as much as she wanted to meet Berk. But every time she asked about the village, every time she wondered about going back, the answer remained the same; "No."

When her parents had decided that she should have her own dragon the pieces finally fell into place. Her own dragon, meaning that she could go wherever she wanted whenever she wanted. Zephyr realised the journey to Berk would have to be completed by herself.

But she waited. It would do no good to leave as soon as she got a dragon of her own, that would be stupid. No, she waited until she could ride Jewel confidently, drinking in every word of the lessons by her parents. And when jumping onto Jewel's back and riding for hours at a time became so natural she could almost do it like breathing, she made her decision.

The conversation she had last night with her father had been a test. Maybe they had changed their mind in the last few years, maybe they would join her on her quest. No such luck. Her father had refused, once again. And so, she grabbed the map hidden underneath the loose plank under her bed, grabbed a pack full of essentials and left a note explaining why she had gone, hoping to stop her parents from worrying. And then, she flew off on Jewel, headed north to Berk.

Her mind drifted to her parents. What would be their reaction when they realised their daughter had gone? What about Nuffink? How long would it take for them to find her?

"Well, we better get it done quickly," Zephyr decided. "It'd be no good for my parents to take me back before I change their minds." Jewel squawked, shaking her head before diving to escape the clouds ahead.

Looking back out into the ocean and seeing the next island (correct in its position on her map), Zephyr rubbed over Jewel's horns. "We're in for a long day."

...

Astrid shot up in bed, looking out the window to see the light of the sun just reaching enough above the horizon to light up her bedroom. She turned to see her husband still asleep. _That's weird, he's usually up before me._

As she moved to sit on the side of her bed, a strange feeling in her stomach stopped her from standing up fully. Frowning, she turned back to Hiccup, wondering if she should wake him. Shaking her head, she left the bed, and then the room.

The house was surprisingly empty. Of course, this early in the morning her family still slept, not waking for another hour or two. But this emptiness didn't seem natural, it was almost eerie, frightening.

A frown still on her face, Astrid moved to knock on her children's door. When no one answered she entered, the door creaking just slightly.

Nuffink slept in his bed, one of his legs almost touching the floor as he laid crooked. His snores echoed around the room.

But it was the other bed that had her worried; Zephyr's bed was empty.

Astrid's heart beat faster in her chest. _Calm down, _she reminded herself. _She's probably out riding Jewel, there's nothing to worry about. _

Hoping to put her mind at rest, she walked out of the house to check the stables. The sun shone across the water, only barely, as the morning was still young.

Jewel's stable was empty.

_Right, _Astrid thought. _That means she's gone for a ride. Everything's fine._

But she never goes out this early.

She returned to her own bedroom, but only sat on the bed. Her breathing quickened and her stomach churned. Something didn't feel right, and Astrid, try as she might, couldn't convince herself that Zephyr had simply gone on a morning flight.

"Astrid?" Her husband's tired voice broke her train of thought. Looking back to him, she knew he could see the redness around her eyes. "Astrid, what's wrong?" The panic in his wife's eyes snapped him out of his morning exhaustion. "Astrid."

Composing herself, Astrid answered, "Zephyr. She's not in her room. I know sometimes she likes to go for morning flights but –"

"But not this early in the morning." Hiccup finished, looking deep in thought. "And Jewel is definitely not around?"

"No, she's not in her stables." Astrid shook her head. "I don't know Hiccup, I could totally be over-reacting, but something is telling me that this isn't right."

Hiccup smiled wearily, placing both hands on Astrid's arms, hoping to calm her down. "I trust your instincts. We'll wait for an hour. If, by that time, she isn't back, we'll go looking for her."

Astrid sighed, burying her head into Hiccup's chest. "Okay, I just can't shake this feeling." Hiccup placed his arms around her. "She didn't say anything to you last night when you were working in the forge?" She asked, and then frowned when she felt him tense. She lifted her head, seeing his worried expression. "Hiccup?"

"Last night, she was going on about the possibility of us going to Berk. To change their minds about dragons." His voice shook as he spoke.

At the mention of Berk Astrid's eyes widened, a sinking feeling settling into her stomach. "You don't think…"

"She wouldn't." Hiccup assured, but even he didn't seem so sure. "She's too smart to go off on her own." Astrid didn't respond. Instead, she ran out of the room and back into the children's shared bedroom. "Astrid, wait!" When he heard her shout, and then the tell-tale sound of an axe ripping through wood, his concern sky-rocketed. "Astrid!"

He jumped off the bed and raced through the house, stopping in his tracks as he watched his wife pull the axe out of the wall. His mouth ran dry. She had her back turned to him and a piece of paper scrunched up in her left hand. "Hiccup." Her voice cracked and she clenched her fist tighter around the paper.

Nuffink sat in his bed, leaning away from the axe his mother held in her hand. "Mum, dad, what's happening? Where's Zephyr?"

"Hiccup, she's gone."

"Gone?" Nuffink asked. Hiccup shook his head, tears springing to his eyes. "What do you mean gone?" The boy pressed, watching his parents carefully.

Astrid straightened the paper and held it out to Hiccup, finally turning around, her face red and eyes filled with angry tears. "She's gone to Berk."

**I'm hating how short these chapters are. I did a little math and each chapter is only 1500 words or less, which is really small, but I can't think of what else to write that would add to the story at all.**  
**Hope you enjoy this anyway!**


	6. Collide

**Chapter Summary: Stoick saves Frode Ingerman from a burning house. ****As the battle dies down, a young girl riding a Deadly Nadder is captured**.

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD.**

Stoick snarled as another wave of dragons flew in from the sea. It was all chaos, and, considering their low numbers, it wasn't looking good.

The sun had barely risen over the horizon when the raid horns blew throughout the village, rousing the warriors from their fitful sleeps. They grabbed their weapons, said a prayer to their favourite god, and pushed out into the morning's biting air.

Chief Stoick had not been awoken by the horns, in fact, he had not gone to sleep for days when the horns blew. As he heard their sound, however, all tiredness left him and in its place, anger. _They never raid in the mornings! _He thought to himself, grabbing his favourite axe and storming out of the house, burying it straight into a Nadder's torso as he stepped foot into the village.

They had been left incredibly vulnerable due to the raid. If the population of Berk had been small a few weeks ago, then it had now turned miniscule. They had barely enough people to even run the village, let alone defend it. And the winter hit hard that year, taking many more brave soldiers and children. The future of Berk looked bleak.

_And who's fault is that?_ Stoick sighed.

The raid to the dragon's nest had been a disaster, maybe the biggest mistake of Stoick's reign as chief. Everyone knew the risks and the dangers of going to Helheim's gate, everyone knew the chance of not coming back; but never had Berk lost so many warriors than on that fateful day.

He looked around the village as it descended into blood and fire. The remaining warriors who had survived the raid to the dragon's nest looked weary and worn; wounds that still hadn't healed tearing at their muscles as they tried to push back the mayhem surrounding them.

Stoick narrowed his eyes, straightened his back and turned to his men. "Get to the catapults, they're not gonna get us that easily."

"Yes, Chief."

"Got it, Chief."

They both waited for the third answer, but then halted when they realised Hoark wouldn't respond, would never respond again. The three men turned to the empty spot beside them, heaviness weighing on their chests. Stoick cleared his throat. "Alright men, you have your orders."

Thankfully, the raid didn't seem to be a big one. A half a dozen, maybe a dozen dragons, no Monstrous Nightmares. No Night Furies.

"Good," Stoick breathed, watching as his warriors brought the raid under control.

Just as he went to join the battle, a sound caught his ears.

"Help! Please help, please!" Stoick turned sharply, his eyebrows furrowing as the voice cried out again. "Please, someone!"

The voice belonged to someone young, that was for sure. And by the desperate tone in their words, they needed help fast.

Stoick followed the voice to a house but stumbled back when it fully came into view. Flames engulfed the house, blazing hotter and harsher by the second. Smoke drifted into Stoick's lungs, causing him to cough uncontrollably. He heard the voice again, "HELP!"

Staggering forward, Stoick braced himself for the heat coming off of the house in waves.

He followed the cries into the back room, where a young boy of five or six sat crouched below his bed. "Help! Please!"

Stoick realised at once who the boy was; the Ingermans' youngest child, Frode. "Boy," he stopped to cough. "Frode, I need you to come out from under the bed."

"Who are you?"

"I'm here to help you." Stoick reassured as the child began to calm down. "Come on, just come out from under the bed."

The boy started to crawl out, but just then a wooden beam fell from the ceiling, stopping him from continuing. "I can't! I can't get out!"

"It's okay." Stoick looked around, trying to figure out a way to rescue the boy. "You're gonna be fine." He coughed again as the wooden beam caught on fire, sending more smoke and ash into the air.

The scene sent him spiralling into the past.

"_Valka, run!" He screamed, throwing the axe right between his wife and the beast. The dragon turned to him suddenly, spewing fire from its mouth and onto the wooden house. _

_He ducked out of the way, just barely escaping the heat of the flames, hiding behind a beam to get the best view. Looking into the scene, he realised he had two choices. _

_First choice. Run back to Valka and save her from the dragon that now turned to her, stalking towards her slowly as its attention changed. His axe still held onto the wood on the other side of the room, preventing him from doing anything to stop the dragon. The flames burned higher around him as he turned to look at the second choice. _

_Choice two. Save Hiccup from the flames. There was a wall of fire directly in front of him, blocking his way to Hiccup. Either choice meant that one of his loved ones could be hurt. But he had to make the choice. _

_Valka could hold her own, she'd lived in this gods forsaken village all her life, had grown up around the beasts. _

_But Hiccup, who was only just born, who shouldn't have even survived longer than the winters, could do nothing but lay in his cradle. The poor babe cried out even more as the heat rose, burning the air around him. _

"_Hold on!" He shouted to his wife, bracing himself to leap through the flames. In a split second he had Hiccup in his arms and his wife in the sky. _

_She cried out as she held onto the dragon's legs for dear life. "No! Stoick!"_

_He could only stare in horror as the dragon flew further away into the night. "No. Valka!"_

"_Stoick!"_

"Please, help!"

He shook his head, bringing himself back into the moment. "Okay, Frode. I need you to back away from the beam, just for a second." He ordered as an idea came to his mind. "Just hide back underneath the bed."

The boy obeyed, shuffling back until he hit the wall, safely under the bed's shelter.

Stoick braced himself and then swung his axe, breaking the wooden beam into two pieces. Ignoring the burning pain in his hands and arms, he moved his axe from side to side, separating the pieces until it created a gap. "Okay, you need to crawl through the beam." He said, holding his arms out in front of him. "I'll grab you once you're close."

"But, the fire…" The boy started, the flames reflected in his blue eyes, showing the fear and terror clearly. The boy took after his father when he was young, easily frightened but intelligent.

Stoick nodded. "It's going to be okay. I'm gonna make sure you don't get hurt." He looked around warily; the house had started to fall around them. It wouldn't last much longer. "But you have to hurry!"

The boy sat still for a moment longer, before closing his eyes and crawling forward fast. He started to whimper as the fire got closer and closer and closer…

"Got you!" Stoick grabbed Forde quickly, running out of the room just as the roof caved in.

However, once they arrived into the main part of the room, they stopped. The door was blocked by a Monstrous Nightmare, snarling and dripping flames just feet in front of the two Vikings. "Oh no." Forde cried, burying his head into the furs of Stoick's cloak.

Stoick set the boy on the ground, where he immediately ran to stay behind the chief. The man got a better grip on his axe before he went to battle with the beast. It was obvious the Nightmare was old and weak, however. It barely lasted a minute before Stoick imbedded the head of his axe into the head of the dragon.

Without even bothering to retrieve the axe, Stoick ran back to pick up the boy, running past the dragon whose fire slowly sputtered out. He ran until the cool air of the night swept into his beard, soothing the burns to his skin. He sighed, slumping onto the ground in exhaustion. He was too old for this.

Forde jumped out of his arms and into the arms of his parents, Fishlegs and Ruffnut. Ruffnut, cradling Forde close to her chest, faced Stoick with a grim expression. "We owe you, Chief."

Stoick simply shook his head, a smile gracing his face despite the situation. "Oh no, me buddy and I had a grand ol' time, a nice adventure. Wasn't it?" His smile widened as he caught the boy's eyes, his shy face offering one in return. "Besides, you were needed out there tonight. We don't—" he stopped suddenly, clearing his throat. "We don't have the defences we used to."

Fishlegs nodded, reaching forward to give the Chief a hand off the ground. "Still, we can't thank you enough. We thought he would be fine in his room. We didn't…" His words wandered off as he turned to his wife, both of them thinking the same thing. "We don't know what we would've done."

"It's alright, boy," Stoick said, placing an arm on the younger man's shoulder. "I… I know."

"Chief!" A man called out, grabbing the chief's attention. He stopped for a minute to catch his breath. "Chief, we caught a Deadly Nadder. We've got it in a net."

Stoick narrowed his eyes. "So? Either kill it or throw it into the arena. Perhaps we could use it for training."

The man shook his head. "No, you see, the Nadder. It has a saddle. There's a girl riding it. We've got her in the net too."

"A girl riding a dragon." Stoick repeated, shock clear on his face. "That's, that's impossible."

Coming up over the hill, five men dragged a green and orange Nadder forward, the beast tangled in the net. And sure enough, a girl was pressed up tightly against the dragon, a brown leather saddle beneath her. "Let me go! LET ME GO! I'm just here to help. Please!"

The messenger turned back to Stoick, his face serious and angry. "What shall we do with them?"

"Please! My name is Zephyr. I know I'm a dragon rider but I can help you! I promise!" The girl cried, her voice triggering something in Stoick's mind, almost like he had heard that voice before.

Ignoring whatever it was, he growled at the girl. "No dragon rider could ever be any help to us." To the messenger he said, "Lock the beast in the arena, the girl can go in the prison. I'll speak to her soon."

**Hi!**  
**Sorry that this is so late, but I literally had no idea how to finish this chapter.**  
**I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know it's a bit of a filler chapter but it does have some relevance to the plot later down in the story, so please excuse it.**  
**Thanks for reading :)**


	7. Jailed

**Chapter Summary: Astrid, Hiccup and Nuffink devise a plan to rescue Zephyr from her own destruction. Stoick speaks with his granddaughter for the first time.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD. **

"Astrid, just calm down…"

"Calm down?" Astrid shouted, clutching her axe tightly in her hand, a scowl on her face. "Hiccup Haddock, do not tell me to calm down!" Stormfly, noticing her rider's distress, growled and exposed her tail spines. "My daughter is in Berk! She's going to be surrounded by dragon killers, people who would hate her just for her very existence! She doesn't realise the danger…" She trailed off, bringing her hand over her mouth as she winced. "My girl..."

Hiccup winced. "Okay, maybe not the best thing to say, sorry." He glanced at the paper in his hand, seeing his daughter's messy, curly writing scrawled across it. Maybe he missed something… maybe, maybe this was just a dream.

_Dear Dad and Mum, _

_I'm sorry about this, but this is something I have to do. Ever since I was a little girl and you first told me the story of Berk, I felt like I had to do this. _

_The people of Berk, I believe they can change. I believe we can help them. You two changed, so why couldn't the rest of them? I can fix this. _

_Don't worry about me. I have Jewel. I'll be fine. _

_Love,_

_Zephyr._

But she's not going to be fine. Not in Berk. Not with the dragon killers. Oh, he was so stupid.

"I'm going back to Berk," Astrid said suddenly, grabbing her axe from where it had been imbedded into the kitchen table and stalking out of the house with Stormfly right behind her. "I'm going to get my daughter back.

Hiccup looked up from the letter, his face wide in shock. He reached forward with his hand to hold her back. "Um, not without me you're not."

"Don't be stupid, Haddock." She growled as she wrenched herself from his grip, her eyes scrunched up so that the tears wouldn't fall.

"Astrid, I'm the one who didn't notice when she talked about Berk last night. I just pushed the topic away." His eyes were wide in sorrow and grief. "I have to go after her, I have to bring her home."

Astrid crossed her arms. "Don't start playing the hero card, Hiccup. Besides, someone has to look after Nuffink," she gestured to the boy.

Nuffink had been sitting at the dining room table, silent for once in his life. But at this he stood up, shock on his face. "Hey, you can take me with you!"

"No!" Astrid and Hiccup both shouted.

"Why not?" He yelled back, his green eyes flashing dangerously. "She's my sister! I want to save her as well."

Hiccup shook his head. "No, you're too young Nuffink. Zephyr is too young! You're both too young to ever step foot on that island!"

"You lived there for fifteen years!" Nuffink retorted, running up to plead with his father. "Surely it's not so bad."

Hiccup stared down at the boy, wanting so badly to have his son's innocence.

Astrid watched them sadly, moving over to place her hands on his shoulders. "Nuffink, your father and I left because if we stayed and they found out we rode dragons we would have either been sent into exile or killed." Nuffink's eyes widened. "It's too dangerous for a dragon rider to live there."

"Zephyr is already there," Nuffink replied, licking his lips nervously. "I don't want to sit by and watch my sister get hurt."

Hiccup sighed into his hand, before running it through his hair and looking up at the roof. "Thor, help me." He whispered, closing his eyes for a brief second. "I promised myself I would never go back there, I promised myself that when I left that island eighteen years ago that would be the last I ever saw of it."

Astrid moved around the table and placed her hands over his, forcing him to look her in the eye. "Whatever we do, we do it together. Just like we've always done."

He nodded, still looking up into the roof, as though he was trying to see past the wood and metal that kept the house standing. "Astrid, we have to take Nuffink. If you and I are going, then we can't leave him here."

"I know," she said, smiling slightly. "It's a stealth mission Haddock. Ready to go back to the old days."

He raised an eyebrow at her, a smirk overriding the frown that had previously plagued his face. "In and out."

"Yep," she agreed. "We get in, we get Zephyr and we leave before questions. We have dragons, they have boats. They'd never catch us."

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. "It's risky."

"It's my daughter." Astrid deadpanned.

Hiccup simply nodded, turning to Nuffink. "Alright, looks like we're going on a family vacation to the Meridian of Misery."

…

Zephyr paced across the floor, a simple rhythm keeping her sane; _one step, two step, one step, two step…_ she bit her nails in worry, the skin raw and red on the tips of her fingers. The floors and walls of the cell that held her were gross and slimy, with water constantly dripping down from the ceiling onto her head. She rubbed her hands over her arms; in the struggle to get out of the net they had captured her with, her coat had fallen off, and they didn't let her go back to grab it or even bring it in themselves for her.

_I just need to get through to them somehow, _she thought. _If only I had Jewel…_

She stopped her pacing, staring into the cold grey rock wall as dread filled her. Jewel. Who knows what they were doing to her. She'd seen them fight the dragons during the raid, they didn't care if they hurt them or even killed them. What would they do to her dragon?

She brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a cry.

In her horror, she had failed to notice a large, red bearded man enter the jail. He stared at her as she hugged her arms closer around herself, shivering because of the cold weather. Guilt rose inside him before it was pushed out by the anger towards dragons and dragon riders, the devils and beasts themselves.

"I'm Chief Stoick," He called out, although his voice echoed around the small jail like he had shouted. The girl jumped, turning to face the man with a terrified look in her eyes. "of Berk. You are in the jail because you rode onto the island on the back of a dragon." He narrowed his eyes and spat out the word 'dragon' like poison. The girl shook silently. "Who are you and why have you come to Berk?"

She gulped and tried to summon all the courage that was within her. Taking a deep breath, she strode forward to look the Chief in the eye. "My name is Zephyr, chief. I've come to help you with your dragon problem."

Stoick narrowed his eyes even further, a scowl etching itself onto his face. "Why would a dragon rider want to help us get rid of the dragons?"

"I'm not proposing to get rid of all the dragons, sir." She started carefully, although now she had a glint of excitement in her eyes. "I'm proposing I teach your men how to ride them. My parents are actually—"

"I don't care who your parents are!" The chief leaned forward, slamming a hand onto the bars of the jail. "I've seen your lot before," he spat. "You dream of a world where dragons and humans get along. I know the ways of your people, the kind that think dragons are anything but mindless beasts."

"That's because they're not mindless beasts!" Her blue eyes flashed, and he suddenly was brought back in time to a young boy staring back at him defiantly, his green eyes showing the same intensity as the blue ones in front of him. Oblivious to his distress, she continued. "I've lived with them my whole life. There are two in my family and I recently got Jewel as my own dragon. They are intelligent, beautiful creatures."

Stoick blinked his eyes to get the image of a little boy with green eyes and auburn hair out of his mind. "I don't know who has brain-washed you girl, but they're wrong. All dragons do are kill and destroy. I've lost my whole family to them." She stepped back, a pity expression on her face. "This whole village has suffered the tyranny of those devils. We will never ride them."

"I can change your mind!" She yelled, running forward to the bars as he went to stand up. "My parents, they were just like you when they were young. They hated dragons. They came from a village that hunted them for sport! But they changed. I know you can too." She said, hoping to all the gods above that he would listen. "Please, I don't want to see either side get hurt."

The chief narrowed his eyes and stared down the girl. "Your parents are as brainwashed as you are. I'm sure their tribe would be disgusted by them." The girl drew back in shock. "My people will never change. They have gone through too much heartache to ever side with those beasts."

He turned to leave but before he did, he looked at her once again. "You will face the Council tomorrow. They will decide whether you should be allowed to leave or whether you will stay here."

The door slammed behind him, echoing through the stone walls, leaving her shivering and alone once again.

…

"How's the girl, Stoick?" Gobber asked as Stoick collapsed into the chair next to him in the Great Hall.

Stoick simply shook his head. "I've left Fishlegs to guard her. She believes in that crap! I don't know who's taught it to her. Goodness, she couldn't be more than fifteen! Off riding those devils."

Gobber shook his head. "Well, what did she have to say? Why's she on Berk?"

"She wants to help," Stoick cut himself off with a humourless laugh before taking a swig of mead given to him by Gobber. "Believes she can teach us to ride dragons. Insane she is. The whole lot of them are crazy!" Gobber didn't answer, which caused Stoick to frown. He turned to look at his best friend who had a face of curiosity. "What, you believe we could?"

"I don't know Stoick," he said, downing his mug in one go. "Maybe she's got a point. You know, four hundred years and we've never solved the problem and here they are living in peace –"

"Peace was never an option when they took my Valka and Hiccup!" Stoick snarled, slamming his mug onto the table. "Even if these dragons were intelligent creatures, why would they be coming and destroying out village? Answer me that."

Gobber just shrugged.

Stoick sat back down onto his chair, unaware that he had even gotten up. "I can't Gobber, I just can't. They've basically taken the village at this point. We should've left when we had the chance."

"Don't speak like that Stoick!" Gobber yelled, banging his mug against the side of Stoick head. "We're Vikings, we're too stubborn to move. Besides, it's an occupational hazard, it's our way of life. They haven't taken us yet!"

The chief's shoulder's slumped forward and he looked every inch the man who had gone through such heartbreak and still had to take care of a dying village. Through the harsh winters and the treacherous raids, he'd stayed true to his people, but that loyalty was weighing on him heavily now, his hair more grey than red, his eyes tired and deep, the wrinkles lining the corners of his face. Gobber sighed, wondering where the carefree and lively man from his past had gone.

"All I'm saying," Gobber said after a moment of silence. "Is that maybe we should have a listen to her. She's facing the Council tomorrow, let her speak for herself. She's come all this way."

The men sat in silence for a little while longer before Stoick turned to Gobber, confusion clear on his face. "How did she know about Berk?"

**I'm so happy because this chapter reached over 2000 words! I don't know why this particular story has me so stumped on word length, usually my chapters are anywhere between 2000-3000 but these barely reach 1500. **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stoick and Zephyr finally met! A bit anticlimactic but I don't want anything juicy revealed just yet ;) **

**40 points for making it this far.**

**Also, this story has 11111 words which is pretty cool!**


	8. Who are your parents?

**Astrid, Hiccup and Nuffink start their journey to rescue Zephyr, but they find something horrifying on their way there.**  
**Zephyr stands trial before the council and has to answer some tough questions.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD. **

The biting wind was something Astrid and Hiccup were used to. They had travelled the whole archipelago on dragon back, racing up higher and higher into the clouds. It took them many trips and dozens of times when they basically froze from the cold to realise that maybe they should be wearing protective gear. Hiccup got to work crafting armour from leather, Astrid helping by pointing out weak spots that might need to be reinforced or have extra protection.

Nuffink, however, had neither a resistant to the cold nor any protective clothing. He sat in front of Hiccup on top of Toothless, buried under two large coats. Toothless did his best to heat the boy up with his own above normal temperature body heat, but the poor boy still shivered under the extreme weather.

"Astrid," Hiccup yelled over the wind. She turned to him; her face hidden by her blue mask. "We need to fly lower, Nuffink is too cold."

The young boy lifted his head above the coats, his lips blue and his nose pink. "I-I-I-I'm f-fine D-d-dad." His teeth chattered and he buried his head among the coats again, seeking warmth.

Astrid guided Stormfly closer to Toothless, staring down at the lump of coats. "No, your father is right. You're way too cold." She turned to look at Hiccup; although he couldn't see her face, he knew her well enough to know that she was extremely anxious. "We'll have to fly lower and just be more careful. If we see any ships, we'll have to fly back into the clouds."

"I'm fine!" Nuffink shouted, even as Toothless and Stormfly dove lower until the riders could catch sight of the large expanse of the blue ocean.

Nonetheless, the boy looked a lot happier now that they were lower, even shedding one of the coats. The family travelled in silence once more.

Until Toothless started to growl.

They had reached a rather foggy area, Hiccup trying desperately to look through the thick mist that covered the sky. The area felt wrong, and in the distance dragon roars could be heard.

Toothless was fidgeting and growling under Hiccup, scrunching his nose and shaking his head around.

"What's wrong, bud?" Hiccup asked, reaching around Nuffink to rub at the reptile's ears. Toothless simply shrugged him off before growling again and steering the two riders to a nearby mountain.

"Stormfly?" Astrid tried to calm her dragon down only for the same thing to happen to the Nadder as it did to Toothless. "What's going on girl?"

As they neared closer to the mountain, they caught sight of the many dragons they had heard the roars of. "Get down!" Hiccup whispered to Astrid, pushing Nuffink behind Toothless' head to shield him. There were Monstrous Nightmares, Nadders, Zipplebacks and Gronkles. They must be close to Berk.

"Dad?" Nuffink whispered, peeking out from behind Toothless. "What's happening?"

Hiccup sighed, trying again to calm his dragon. "I don't know, kiddo."

"What is going on?" Astrid asked as the dragons flew into one of the many caves in the mountain.

The mountain was huge, and easily took up most of the island. The entire inside of it was hollow, almost as if it had once been a volcano. The dragons sat upon the many ledges and rocks on the inside of the mountain walls, looking anxious and flightily. Stormfly and Toothless landed near the entrance of the mountain, Hiccup, Astrid and Nuffink watching over their heads carefully.

They noticed that each dragon had either a fish or sheep in its claws, but instead of eating the food themselves, they simply dumped it into a hole within the mountain. "Is this Berk's food?" Astrid asked, watching as a single Nightmare came flying in last, holding a half-eaten sheep in its claws.

"I think so," Hiccup answered, narrowing his eyes as the Nightmare lazily dumped the sheep into the hole. The dragons went quiet in an instant, and…

"Ahh—!" Nuffink started to scream before Hiccup shoved a hand over his mouth, however, he too was horrified at the sight before him. Astrid recoiled back in shock and terror.

A huge dragon head lifted out of the smoke in the middle of the hole, swallowing the Nightmare whole before sinking back down.

Hiccup slapped Toothless' side. "Get us out of here, bud," he said as all the other dragons fled the scene as well.

…

"Would you please state your name for the council?" Stoick asked, sitting in the centre of the council, leaning over to look at the girl.

She stood directly in front of them, behind her sat the rest of the village who had tuned in to witness what was sure to be a good show. The girl looked nervous, incredibly nervous, but there was still that spark of determination that reminded Stoick of something. Or maybe someone…

In a clear voice she stated, "My name is Zephyr." She clenched her hands that were bound tightly with cord. She wished she had taken her mum's fighting lessons more seriously, maybe then she wouldn't be stuck in this situation. Or maybe she should have just listened to her parents when they said they would never go to Berk. They hated her 'kind' here. _'I can't let them know mum and dad are from here,_ she decided.

"Zephyr," Stoick boomed. "You are being tried with the offence of riding a dragon into Berk's territory. As the offence was committed on our land, we have the right to determine punishment if necessary. The usual punishment for such an act is disownment and exile, however you neither belong to a family of Berk nor are an actual citizen of Berk, so a new punishment must be determined." He took a breath in. "Zephyr, you may now take up your defence."

Zephyr looked to all the men and women that sat before her, aware of the more men and women that sat behind her. This was her one shot to convince the people of Berk.

"When my father was a child," she started, remembering the words her father spoke to her so many years ago. "He lived in hatred of dragons. The only thing he wanted to do was kill a dragon to prove himself a formidable warrior to his tribe." The Vikings nodded, understanding the mentality of the man. "One day he shot down a Night Fury."

This caused everyone to stop. Those who were old enough eighteen years ago to remember recalled the night the young Haddock claimed the same thing. _"Okay, but I shot down a Night Fury…" _For this girl to use almost the same phrasing as the boy once had… Zephyr heard grumbling in the audience but ignored it to continue her story.

"He went by himself to kill the dragon. He stared it right in the eye and aimed the knife at its heart as it was tied up by bolas. He went to strike… except he couldn't."

The grumbling continued, growing louder. Stoick narrowed his eyes angrily at them.

"He looked at the dragon and saw himself—"

"Are we really going to believe this?" Interrupted Bard, the man who had replaced Spitelout after his death, but who was just as argumentative and rude. "This magical fairy tale where dragons and Vikings get along? And from a young girl no less?" He sneered, showing his yellowed and mis-aligned teeth.

Stoick turned to the man sharply. "She is making her defence. We will make a judgement once she is finished."

Zephyr gulped at the interruption, trying to remember where she was. "Yeah, so he saw himself." The grumbling returned. "He couldn't kill the dragon. Instead he set it free."

"Over the next few weeks he bonded with the dragon in a way that no one thought was possible. He learned new, exciting things about the dragons that no one from his village had ever known. After a few weeks, he decided to leave with the dragon. Except he was stopped by a girl. This girl saw how he was with the dragon and decided to turn them into the village. But he showed her how wonderful and beautiful these creatures are—"

"Those creatures killed my entire family!" A member of the crowd yelled. "They are no more wonderful or beautiful than Grendel himself."

At the woman's outburst, the rest of the crowd joined in, shouting at the girl, cursing the dragons and yelling out the ways their lives had been torn apart by dragons. Zephyr listened to every single shout, drawing in on herself more as she heard the horrible things that had been done to this village. "There's got- has to- must be something- something wrong then," she decided, stumbling and stuttering over her answer, turning around to face the crowd, yelling over the noise. "The dragons I know would never behave like that."

"QUIET!" Stoick banged his hammer against the railing, causing it to bend and then snap. The yelling stopped almost immediately. "Thank you," he sat back down onto his chair, crossing his arms against his huge chest. "If you could please continue."

Zephyr nodded, biting her lip hard. "So, my mum and dad ran away from their village, and lived the rest of their lives with dragons."

"What's the point of this story again?" Bard scowled, standing up from his chair to stare down at the girl. "Are you hoping for us to feel pity for these dragon lovers? Spoiler alert, dragon lovers are hated in this village, no matter what."

The girl narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists to stop them from reaching over the railing and punching the guy in the face, no matter the rope around her wrists. "My point is, my parents changed and so can you! I've heard about how bad raids here are, I've heard about the tragedy and loss. I want to fix it."

At this, the crowd murmured among themselves, curious how a young girl no more than fifteen could fix a problem they hadn't for centuries.

"Yes," Stoick said, frowning. "And please tell the council how you plan on doing that." He leaned forward, curious to see if her plan had changed at all since they had last spoken.

The crowd leaned forward along with the council. Zephyr cringed slightly under the attention. "I plan to teach you what my parents taught me, to ride dragons."

"No way!"

"Are we really going to allow this?"

"Send her away!"

"We can't listen to this!"

Stoick grabbed his hammer again and banged it against the already broken railing once more; it smashed into pieces. The yelling stopped. He growled, furious at how this girl had just come into their lives and disturbed their way of life. "Girl, I'm suggesting you don't bring up the topic of dragon riding. It's not well liked here."

Zephyr, however, stood her ground, unwilling to let this go. "I know the heartache you guys have been through," she paused, turning around to face the crowd. "I understand why you guys would hate dragons so much. But there is something wrong here that I want to help fix. I've been around dragons my entire life and I have never seen them act this way before. I want to learn why."

"We know the reason why, lass," Bard growled, leaning over the railing to intimidate her. "They are nothing but heartless beasts."

Zephyr shook her head, determined to change their mind. "No, they're not—"

"Enough of this." Stoick stood up, stopping the conversation from continuing. "The council has a new question for you. Why did you come to Berk?"

The girl blinked up at him, confused. "I already told you. I want to help."

"No," he continued. "There are many islands in this archipelago that are being terrorised by dragons. Why did you come to Berk?"

Zephyr took a breath in, willing herself to stay calm even though under her confident persona her heart was racing. How was she going to get herself out of this one? "Umm, I—"

"Why specifically Berk, Zephyr?" Stoick pressed, stepping down from his chair and over the broken railing to move towards the girl. "Do you have connections here? How did you even hear about us? I thought you were raised by dragon lovers."

"I was!" Zephyr shouted, backing away from the stand, only to stop once she reached the railing that separated her from the villagers.

Stoick only stepped forward once again. "Then how do you know about Berk?" He was all but shouting at this point, his words echoing around the hall.

"They told me!"

"How do they know about Berk then? And furthermore, why wouldn't you just go to your parent's old village instead of this one?" Stoick faltered at the end, finally stepping back from the girl, his eyebrows furrowed.

Zephyr stopped, fear bleeding into her blue eyes. Her heart dropped to her stomach as Stoick looked closer at her features. The room was silent, a contrast to the booming voice the chief had just been using. In front of her, the council looked to the chief in confusion, Bard standing up to try and get a look at his face. Behind her, she could hear slight shuffles as the villagers tried to do the same thing.

Stoick spoke again, a little above a whisper. "Zephyr, what village did your parents come from?"

She only shook her head, refusing to speak. They couldn't know, if they knew her parents and brother would never be safe from them. The only reason her mum and dad had survived so long unnoticed was because everyone who knew them thought they were dead.

"You're on trial, you have to answer the question!" Bard shouted, still leaning over the railing.

Zephyr shook her head again.

"They were from Berk, weren't they?" Stoick breathed. "They were from Berk, which explains why you knew so much about us. You knew how to find us, you knew the problems we faced. That's why you want to help us so much, you probably have family here."

"No, that's not true—"

"I would have thought that it would be impossible for anyone from Berk to even associate with dragons, but the evidence is all there. Your parents left Berk all those years ago and you came back to help us." He stopped once more; grief, pain and sorrow showing on his face. "And I've seen your face before on a young girl who used to live here."

"Sir, Chief Stoick, none of that is true—"

He stepped closer once more. "Who are your parents?" He asked, although from his expression he already knew the answer. She shook her head again, biting her lip and hoping to any of the gods that were listening that she could get out of this mess. "Who are your parents?"

The silence crept through the hall, every single person inside it leaning into the middle to catch every word of the exchange. Zephyr still refused to answer, only staring down at her hands.

And then…

"Stoick, get away from my daughter!" And then an axe swirled through the air and landed right between Stoick and Zephyr.

**Cliffhanger?**  
**I'm actually really happy with how this chapter turned out! It flowed a little easier when I was writing it.**  
**Hope you're enjoying it, we're about maybe half-way, a little more than halfway done? We'll see. I've still got some more plot points planned (alliteration!)**


	9. Hiccup

**Chapter Summary: Zephyr's parents come to the rescue. ****Hiccup and Astrid decide it's time to stop hiding.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HTTYD.**

Zephyr could have collapsed from relief but also terror.

First off, her family had come to save her. While she still fully believed that she was right in coming to Berk to try to change their minds, she realised that maybe she was in a little too over her head. The sight of her mum and dad and Nuffink and the _dragons _brought her much comfort.

But also, her mother looked absolutely terrifying with her blue Deadly Nadder helmet and her second axe held in her hand (since when did she have a second axe?), and Zephyr knew at once that she was in a whole lot of trouble.

Hiccup stood behind Astrid, holding his fiery sword Inferno, looking every bit as intimidating as Astrid with his Night Fury helmet and black clothes. Nuffink stood behind them, holding an axe in his hand, although he probably wouldn't do anything with it anyway. His parents had told him over and over again to not get involved if a fight were to occur.

And behind all of them, increasing their intimidating look, were the two dragons. Stormfly stood with her tail raised and pointed, ready to shoot someone should her rider signal her to do so. And Toothless let out his signature roar, causing all the villagers to stand back in terror. None of them had ever seen a Night Fury before, and to see it in their Great Hall, angry and ready to pounce, would cause anyone to soil their pants.

Stoick, however, simply turned his attention away from Zephyr and onto the new party. "So, here are the infamous riders we've heard all about." He narrowed his eyes at the helmets covering their faces and strode forward but took a step back when the dragons growled.

"Look, just let us take our daughter and we'll be going. We don't want any trouble." Hiccup raised his hands in the air, although the sentiment wasn't quite there considering he still held Inferno in his left hand.

The chief turned back to Zephyr who was surely avoiding her parent's gaze. "So, these are your parents?" She crossed her arms, still unwilling to answer him. "Well, if you won't answer my questions maybe they can!"

"We're not here to answer questions. We just want our daughter!" Astrid growled, raising her axe above her head.

Stoick didn't looked scared or shocked in the slightest, which was quite a feat as most if not all of the other Vikings were scared out of their minds. If anything, he looked sad, the bags under his eyes becoming more prominent, which was saying something, as he looked completely exhausted twenty-four-seven. "You two are from Berk, aren't you?" He asked softly, his tone sad but strong. He wouldn't let this go. He wouldn't let them go. (not again)

Hiccup simply strode over to where Zephyr stood, ignoring the protests and threats of the Viking villagers. In one quick motion he severed the rope binding her hands and then turned back to the dragons. "Let's go, Zephyr. We'll talk on the ride back."

Zephyr stood frozen to her spot. Hiccup looked back at her. She could not see his face, but she knew he was most likely angry at her. "Zephyr."

"Dad, we can help them!" She burst out. "I'm so sorry I didn't listen to you, but I know these people can change!"

Hiccup took some deep breaths to try and calm down. "Zephyr, we're going home now."

"No, you're not!" Stoick interrupted, stepping between Hiccup and Zephyr. "I want answers! Three dragon riders show up on my island out of the blue! You're staying." He went to grab the younger man by the arm, but Hiccup ducked and ran until he stood in front of Zephyr.

"Zephyr, we don't have time for this." He held out his hand to her, offering to help her over the bannister that kept her locked away. "You just gotta trust me on this one, kiddo."

She shook her head. "The raids here are horrible! I need to find out why." She pleaded, almost begging her father to understand.

"We know why Zephyr," he said, in a whisper. "We found out the reason why, but we can only fix it if we leave now!"

He turned once more to leave, but instead caught the blunt end of Stoick's axe to his head. Hiccup stumbled back, dazed and disoriented from the attack. In his moment of weakness, Stoick managed to bring the axe right up under his chin. "You're not leaving until I get answers!"

Stoick didn't account for Astrid being willing to throw her second axe towards them, the blade just barely missing the chief's head. Hiccup shook his head to clear the dizziness. "Come on, Zephyr!" He yelled, cutting the wooden bannister in half to allow Zephyr to walk through. "We need to leave!" It was clear that Hiccup's patience had almost run out.

Hiccup never thought he would ever step foot on Berk ever again. Sure, he had always wanted to do what Zephyr had done; run back and try to change their minds. But he knew that it was impossible. So, he stayed away, protecting himself and his family. Being back here, however, brought back some unwanted memories. Like when he stared up at the council and saw Snotlout sitting in what would've been his chair; the heir's chair, and only thinking of the punches the man had laid on him when they were only boys. Or when he looked out into the crowd and saw Fishlegs, bigger than he ever remembered him, and only thought of the times when the boy had turned his back on him when the twins and Snotlout did their damage. And Ruffnut sitting next to him, a boy with blonde hair and chubby cheeks on her lap (when had that happened?), then Tuffnut next to her.

Or even worse than any of this, to look into the eyes of his father, his father who really looked worse for wear, the long years as chief having weighed on him heavily. His father, who only ever shunned him and tossed him aside, who only saw him as the disappointment of what could have been a great chief.

_Well, look at me now, Dad._

"Zephyr, we're leaving!" He shouted again when his daughter refused to move. She was so stubborn, an unfortunate trait she had inherited from both parents, and her refusal to ever listen to him reminded him so much of himself as a boy.

She shook her head once again. Hiccup admired her determination and bravery, but he knew his daughter well enough to see the fear and sorrow showing in her eyes. "Dad, they can change!" He knew her well enough to know that she would never let this go, as long as she lived. They could drag her back home a hundred times over and she would still find her way back to this village to try and change their minds about dragons. He could either let her do it by herself, or…

He sighed, turning to Astrid. Without speaking she knew what he was thinking. She looked out among the many faces in the crowd, so many that she didn't know, so many that she couldn't see anymore. She turned back and nodded.

Hiccup turned to face his father, the man he hadn't seen in eighteen years. The man he wanted so desperately to become for fifteen years of his life, who he wanted to impress so badly.

Standing here, at thirty-three years old, he knew he would never impress his father. And he was okay with that.

Slowly, he took his helmet off, keeping his head low to the ground as he breathed in, trying to calm his nerves. Then, he looked up.

Stoick had guessed that this would be the answer, that it would be the person he had longed to see for eighteen years behind the mask, but he didn't really believe it until he saw the stranger take it off. The messy auburn hair, the little scar on his chin, those emerald eyes that shone with courage and determination.

"Hi, Dad." His voice was no longer muffled by the mask. Strangely enough, the voice hadn't changed much in the eighteen years, but the boy had changed so much. No longer was he the scrawny, small and weak son of Stoick the Vast. No. Now he stood tall, confident, sure of himself. He stood in front of his family as if to protect them.

The villagers gasped, comically. Fishlegs narrowed his eyes at the man, quickly seeing all the similarities between this man and his old childhood friend. Ruffnut and Tuffnut next to him drew back into their chairs, shame colouring their cheeks. On the council's seat, Snotlout only watched. He did not know how to feel about this whole situation. _Maybe he'll take over as heir_, he thought, which was something his fifteen-year-old self would never think to feel in a hundred years.

Stoick only stood there in shock, staring at the man who was once his boy. "Hiccup." The hall grew quiet. The older man took a hesitant step forward, stopping when Hiccup took a step back. "Is this real?" He whispered under his breath. "Where have you been? Why did you go? You left us to be with dragons?" His voice rose with each question, the anger and betrayal rising behind his eyes.

"Yes." Hiccup answered. Stoick took a step back at the confidence the man displayed with the answer. "None of you believed me when I said I shot down that Night Fury." At this, Toothless came to stand directly behind Hiccup, staring Stoick directly in the eye. The chief took another step back. "Well I did, and what I saw proved that dragons are not the merciless beasts we once thought."

Stoick growled but turned to look at the crowd that was now trying to look anywhere but at the chief. He sighed, turning to the council, "I propose that this trial is postponed," he put forward. "However, the council will reconvene tonight to discuss," he turned back to Hiccup, Astrid and the dragons. "other matters."

**WOOOOOO! The part we've all been waiting for!**  
**Hope you enjoy this chapter! My school just got shutdown so you'll be seeing a lot more content from me hopefully.**  
**Please leave any comments on how you think this went :)**


	10. Confrontation

**Chapter Summary: Hiccup and Stoick finally talk after eighteen years.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own How To Train Your Dragon.**

Stoick sat down at one of the tables, staring his long thought dead son in the eyes. The man stared right back, no hint of the shy and nervous boy from his past. Looking at this man was almost like looking at a stranger. The chief's heart pounded painfully. He'd longed for this moment, had dreamt so many times that he would be reunited with his son, but this just made everything more complicated. All his initial anger had subsided, and now he was left with a longing to just hold the boy tight and never let go.

There was the woman sitting by his side, her blue mask still hiding her face. She had her hands placed over his, stroking comfortingly over his gloves. Stoick had an inclination to who the woman was, there was only one other person who had gone missing the same time Hiccup had, and if his thoughts were correct the young boy had had a crush on the lass. And then he looked at the two children sitting beside them and decided that yes, the woman was who he thought she was.

Zephyr stared at him, a familiar looking expression upon her face. Stoick knew at once where all the little familiar things he saw in her came from; they'd come from Hiccup. And if Stoick looked hard enough, really, really hard, he could see Valka in the twinkle of her blue eyes. She seemed put out, just like how Hiccup had once looked when Stoick had decided (for some gods' forsaken reason) that ruling the tribe was more important than his own son. The only thing Stoick saw of himself in the girl was the auburn hair that had once been tucked into a neat braid but was now a ratty mess.

The boy, he didn't know his name. Stoick breathed a sigh. He didn't know the name of his own grandson. A grandson that shared the same brilliant shade of emerald of Hiccup's eyes. But then his hair was a bright blonde, a Hofferson trait if he'd ever seen one, and he was now sure of the mother's identity. The boy leaned away from him, and for a second Stoick replaced the blonde for auburn and he was staring at Hiccup from so long ago, leaning away from him as he came home grumbling.

The two dragons stood behind the family, staring down at Stoick with their unflinching gaze. If it were up to the chief, he would have had them thrown into the arena and killed, but he knew that any chance of finding out what happened to his son would be gone if he even attempted that. Still, he glared at them. It was all their fault.

"So," Stoick started, his voice gruff and hoarse. "I don't want to make assumptions, but I'm not stupid. It's you, Astrid."

The woman didn't move for a while, and Stoick thought for a moment that perhaps he got it wrong. Maybe, Astrid and Hiccup disappearing at the same time was just a coincidence, maybe Hiccup had seen the last of Astrid all those years ago. But then, Stoick looked into Zephyr's icy blue eyes, and realised he'd only ever seen that intense a blue before in one Astrid Hofferson.

And as the woman lifted off her helmet, he saw those intense blue eyes once again.

There was a fire burning behind them, the fire that burned so hot it turned blue, and could blaze through anything in its path. He'd messed with her family and now he was going to pay.

"Stoick." She said, a neutral expression on her face, the neutral face only a warrior could pull off. And Astrid had always been a warrior, and perhaps always would be.

Stoick tried for a smile, though he knew it would come off as a grimace. "I'm surprised. I never thought Astrid Hofferson would be the one to run off with dragons." He spit 'dragons' out like poison; he really would have gone with the term 'beasts' or 'devils' but he didn't want to anger the two people in front of him more than he already had.

Astrid noticed the tone used for 'dragons' and her blue eyes hardened further.

"Maybe you were wrong about us." Us. Both of them. Yes, he had to admit that he was wrong about both of them.

He cleared his throat, not willing to let that thought linger anymore. "Yes, well. We have some concerns with these dragons." He let the word become softer on his lips, but still substituted the word for 'devils' in his head. "But before we get to that…" he trailed off.

Stoick never thought he could be brought speechless (especially throughout those long eighteen years where it seemed nothing surprised him anymore) but at the sight of his son, his very much alive, healthy, _grown_ son, he was brought speechless. It was something that hadn't happened since…

"Why did you leave, Hiccup?" Stoick whispered. "Why did you leave? I spent eighteen years thinking you were dead!" He shook his head. "I lost your mother, and I swore I would never lose you."

Hiccup only stared at him, but Stoick could see something in his eyes that he hadn't seen before, something he'd never seen in Hiccup's eyes. "Kids," he stared, not tearing his eyes away from the chief. "Go outside for a minute. Take the dragons." Zephyr looked like she wanted to argue but thought against it at the last moment. She rose from the bench and took a hold of the boy's arm as the two beasts behind them moved out of the Great Hall. The door slammed closed.

"I was never accepted here." The harsh truth stabbed at Stoick's heart like an axe to the chest. The conviction in Hiccup's words almost made tears come to his eyes. "I was never wanted by anyone here. I was called useless and I made a mess of everything." Hiccup finally broke eye contact, allowing Stoick to take a sigh of relief. "And then I met Toothless." Stoick furrowed his eyebrows, but Hiccup soon answered the silent question. "He was the Night Fury I shot down that night." Hiccup turned back to Stoick, and the chief finally understood what was burning in the green of his son's eyes. "I left because Toothless was kinder to me in a few weeks than the whole village had been in fifteen years." It was anger. Righteous anger. And Stoick felt angry too.

"So, that's it!" He stood up, bellowing. "That's the answer! You ran off with the beasts, that's why you left!" He took a breath in and glared. "I waited eighteen years just to hear that. This is your village…"

Hiccup slammed his fist against the table. "This was never my village! This village never treated me like a citizen, so I won't call it home!"

"That doesn't mean you run off with the devils!"

"I'm trying to help you here! At the moment we're the only ones who know how to solve the problem!"

Stoick growled, unwilling to hear what Hiccup was saying. "Eighteen years. Eighteen years just to find out my son's a traitor."

Hiccup looked like he had been slapped in the face. He clenched his hands together and sat back down on the bench. "I was never good enough for you anyway."

This time it was Stoick who felt the weight of the statement, and he instantly regretted every negative word he said towards Hiccup, every time he brushed him off all those years ago. Is that how Hiccup felt? Could this have been avoided? Could he have solved the problem if he had just been a better father?

"Hiccup…"

"Save it."

Astrid placed a hand on his arm, and he seemed to calm down, but still stared down Stoick with the most intense gaze the chief had ever seen on his face. "I didn't come here to argue. I came because I know how to get rid of the raids."

Stoick, still reeling from Hiccup's outburst, scoffed. "How could you suddenly just know how to solve this problem?"

"I've been to the nest."

**Hi!**

**I know this is a long time overdue, and I really apologise for that. This chapter isn't great, and I'll probably re-write it in the future but I just needed to continue the story.**  
**Thanks!**


	11. Discussions

Hiccup sat in front of Stoick; his hands clenched tightly. "I've been to the nest." He repeated, even as his father (no, Stoick) shook his head. "I can help you solve this problem."

"The only way to solve this problem is to kill every last dragon in that nest." Stoick growled. "You will tell me where that nest is."

The younger man scoffed. "I'm not telling you anything. I think you've forgotten I'm no longer a child Stoick."

"Okay!" Astrid finally spoke up. She had taken a back seat to the conversation so far, only speaking when Stoick had acknowledged her. Being with Hiccup for eighteen years, she knew how important it would be for him to talk with his father with no interruptions. However, they had come here for a purpose. Initially that purpose had just been to get Zephyr back, but Hiccup had always had a bleeding heart and she knew the moment they found the nest he would want to fix the problem once and for all. Astrid knew the necessity of Hiccup talking through the frustrations of his past, but the argument had gone on for too long and they needed to get to a compromise.

She turned to Stoick. "We can leave." She said, cocking her head. "We got what we came for. There's no benefit for us staying any longer." The woman leaned forward over the table with an intense stare. "We don't need to help you."

Stoick sat with his head bowed. His pride would never let him work with these… these dragon sympathizes. As much as he hated dragons, he hated these people more. Dragons were mindless beasts; they didn't have the knowledge to know what they were doing. And these people; they knew what dragons did and still sided with them. But…

But as a chief, as a warrior and a leader, he knew an opportunity when he saw one. Four hundred years of a dragon problem and Stoick and his father and his father before could not solve the problem. The village had been through generation after generation of destruction and violence.

Stoick looked into the eyes of his son, his only son. This man should have been his heir. This man would have inherited the throne after Stoick's death. This man was destined to lead their village. Maybe, just maybe, he held the answers to their dragon problem.

Hiccup stared intensely at him as Stoick asked, "What is your plan then?" Stoick gestured to the dragons outside the Great Hall. "You surely don't want to kill all the dragons…" The chief narrowed his eyes, "so what is your plan?"

The young man smiled, and for a moment Stoick caught a glimpse of that wide-eyed young boy who would run around the house, leaving Stoick dizzy and amused. But in a blink, he was gone again.

"The dragons don't come to the village to steal the food for themselves. They are forced to do it." Hiccup explained, gesturing with his hands as he usually does. "There's a Queen. A huge dragon the size of a mountain that controls the smaller dragons. If they don't bring her food, she _eats them." _

Stoick looked on in horror. What kind of beast could so easily eat a dragon, one of the most feared and dangerous creatures in the world?

Hiccup continued, "Our plan is to hopefully kill the Queen. Then the dragons under her control will be free and I guarantee they won't come back." He assured, but Stoick didn't feel convinced.

"How are you so certain that those dragons won't come back to destroy us even more?" He challenged. "Maybe without their Queen they will be even more ruthless."

Beside Hiccup, Astrid shook her head. "No, we've seen what dragons are truly like, out of the control of a Queen. They don't go out of their way to harm people."

"And how do you propose we kill this Queen?"

"We want to train your warriors to ride dragons."

Stoick stood still, staring at Hiccup incredulously. He searched the man's features but only saw honesty and sincerity. "You're crazy."

"Here me out—"

"No!" Stoick knew he was being stubborn. He knew that Hiccup could be the only one to bring this war to an end. But he, as their Chief and leader, would never approve of anyone in his village riding a dragon. "We will not bring ourselves down to that level. No one from my village will ever…" He trailed off, looking into the fire in the man's eyes before him.

He was going to say that no one from his tribe would ever ride a dragon, but that wasn't true, was it? Hiccup himself had been riding a dragon for weeks while still living in this village, and Astrid followed soon after. Even though both of them had left the village, under the Viking's laws, they still belonged to the tribe as they hadn't been disowned or publicly excused themselves from the village. So, here sat two Berkians who rode dragons.

Hiccup continued to look at him with those strong, unyielding eyes. Stoick conceded, "I must speak with my advisors." The other man nodded, understanding that such a decision could not be chosen by one man alone when the whole village was at stake. "For the mean time…" he paused and thought. "You will take your children and your… dragons and stay in my home. If I hear one report of your dragons harming anybody," Stoick scowled and glared at the two of them. "I will not hesitate to hand down necessary punishment."

The couple turned to each other and nodded. "We accept your terms." Hiccup stated, already rising from the table. "We hope to hear of your decision soon."

…

"We have continued this meeting because of…" Stoick paused and let out a humourless laugh. "Unexpected occurrences."

Bard laughed at him, his eyes cold and demeaning. "Stoick, you can't convince me that the man is Hiccup."

Stoick stopped and frowned, turning to face Bard. "What evidence do you have proving otherwise?"

"Well," the man started, smiling cruelly. "He's been gone near twenty years. Doesn't it seem strange to you that he just so happens to turn up in search for his 'daughter'?" He stood up from the table and moved to the front, where he could address the council more clearly. "It doesn't seem…" he searched for the word, "probable."

The men nodded their heads, seemingly believing Bard's argument. Stoick sighed, "As much as I hesitate to say it, he is my son. I would know that face anywhere."

"Oh yes," Bard nodded his, almost mockingly as he turned directly to Stoick, leaning against the wooden table in the room. "But Stoick, do you think that maybe," he smiled sadly but Stoick knew it wasn't real. "Just maybe, you want to believe he's your son?" Stoick grimaced, knowing Bard had made a compelling argument. He knew himself that the man who stood before him shared too many qualities of Hiccup not to be him. He knew it in his heart, but how could he convince the others?

Gobber laughed out loud, pulling his mug-hand up to his mouth to take a swig of the drink. "Bard, that man is Hiccup more than I'm the Belch!" He scrunched his nose up at the taste in his mouth before shrugging and taking another swig. "I spent more time with that boy than anyone else. The lad is who he says he is."

"Are you so sure, Gobber?" Another man, Erik, called out. "We haven't seen the lad in twenty years. I hardly remember what colour hair he had!"

A few men on the council laughed before a glare from Stoick had them awkwardly stopping, looking down at the table to avoid his stare. The chief then stood up and walked to the front where Bard stood. Bard took a step back nervously as he stared up at the towering figure. "I talked with him before, he said things no one else could say, no one else could remember." He turned to face the table. "He's my son, and he's proposed a plan."

Bard narrowed his eyes. "A plan? What could he possibly offer us?"

"The nest."

Snotlout, for the first time this meeting, spoke up. "The nest?" He asked, standing up and walking over to Stoick. "He knows where the nest is?"

"The nest?"

"No way!"

"We haven't found it yet…"

Bard's voice cut over all the other voices. "You're telling me this boy found the nest in twenty years when we haven't found it in four hundred?" He laughed as the other council members slowly stopped talking over each other. "This story keeps getting better and better."

"As someone who rides on dragons…" Stoick trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence. "He'd have the resources to find the nest. And they want to help us, they want to help us get rid of the dragon problem."

Erik raised an eyebrow. "You're saying they want to help us kill them? Stoick, they're dragon sympathisers!"

Stoick looked out among the council, and then looked to Snotlout and Gobber. They were his two biggest supporters and he knew that regardless of the decision, they would ultimately agree with their chief if the reasoning was logical. Gobber nodded to Stoick, as if he already knew what the man was going to propose.

"I will remind you," Stoick started. "That I have been chief almost forty years. Although I might not have always made the right choice, I always had the best intention for our village. I have survived with you, mourned with you, grieved through years and years of dragon attacks. I lost my wife to the devils, and until recently, I believed my son gone as well." He paused, allowing the council a moment to understand. "I believe that the plan that Hiccup has proposed goes against everything I was taught as a Viking, but perhaps it might be the only way to truly rid Berk of dragons."

Stoick thought back to the terror he felt at the idea of a dragon-eating dragon. Something so large and terrifying that it could swallow a Monstrous Nightmare whole. "Hiccup says that in the nest is the Queen of the Dragons, and it is she who makes the dragons raid our village. And if they do not bring her back food… she eats them."

The men before him leaned back in horror, imagining how big a dragon like that could be. Bard, however, only narrowed his eyes. Stoick continued, "Hiccup proposes that the only way into the nest is by dragon back. He wants to teach our warriors to ride dragons.

The room erupted into disagreement, voices calling out and echoing through the large chamber.

"Stoick," Bard started, "if you expect us to believe that we'll let anyone from this village ride a dragon—"

"But that's already happened!" Stoick counteracted. "Hiccup, under Viking laws, is still a Berkian. Someone from this village already rides a dragon." Stoick consciously decided not to mention the appearance of Astrid, knowing the council could only take one shocking announcement at a time.

The council calmed down after that declaration, but still had scowls etched onto their faces.

"Stoick, are you sure he's not telling tales at this point?" Erik asked, once the room had been quieted. "Maybe the boy's gone mad."

Gobber, once again coming to Stoick's aid, spoke up. "The boy's probably a lil' off in the head, going off with the dragons and all that," at this, Gobber took another swig from his mug. "But I saw the lad when he came in here. You all saw him when he came in here. Does that look like a man who's gone mad?"

Stoick nodded and, realising the meeting was going nowhere, raised his hand. "Men, I do not expect us to come to an agreement tonight. It's late. Go home and think on it."

The men grumbled as they left the building, talking amongst themselves as they walked home. Gobber and Snotlout stayed behind with Stoick, looking to him with many questions in their eyes. Stoick sighed, "What about you, Snotlout? You were unusually quiet during this meeting."

Snotlout shrugged his shoulders and leaned back. "Look, I was never a fan of Hiccup when we were younger. I used to treat him like dirt." At this he bowed his head, slightly remorseful of his actions. "But I don't think he's come here to hurt Berk. I don't think he's capable of hurting Berk."

"Aye," Gobber added. "You should've heard him in the forge. It was no secret how the village treated the young lad, but never once did he say a really… a really hurtful word against anyone." He turned towards Stoick; a sad expression written across his face. "Hiccup's a good man. He's come to help us."


End file.
